Maybe you've forgotten, but the Dodgers are in the middle of the NL wild card hunt, and they're hoping that a certain 44-year-old who is fond of macaroni and cheese sandwiches will help them reach the Promised Land. David Wells is back in a pennant race! He agreed to a contract Thursday and plans to make his first start on Sunday night against the Mets in New York. It's probably too much to hope for that Wells would face Pedro Martinez is that one, so I'll just be thankful for whomever they throw out there. Wells, of course, was designated for assignment by the Padres on August 9 and placed on waivers four days later. He cleared waivers last week and became a free agent. The funny thing is that he actually could help ... the Dodgers beat the Phillies 5-2 on Thursday (Chad Billingsley (!) got the win), to move 2 1/2 games behind San Diego and a half-game behind the Phillies in the wild card race. Godspeed, Boomer. Hmm, could it be that the only reason he's coming back is to get a shot at some of that sweet Who's The Boss lady action? I, for one, hope so.

• Speaking Of Said Padres And Mets ... After Billy Wagner and Trevor Hoffman (combined career saves: 867) proved worthless and weak, Heath Bell ushered in a bright, new era in relief pitching to lead the Padres over the Mets 9-8. Adrian Gonzalez homered in the 10th to win it, as both Wagner and Hoffman earned blown saves. Bell pitched the 10th, giving up two singles and striking out one to hold on for the save.

• Boof Bonser Alert. Perhaps even more devastating than giving up 30 runs in one game is getting beaten by Boof Bonser. The Man Called Boof pitched seven innings and allowed three hits to get his first win since June 10, the Twins beating the Orioles 5-2. Oh, and three errors by Baltimore helped. Bonser was 0-8 in his previous 12 starts.

• Piazza Delivery. It was career homer No. 424 for Mike Piazza, one of his four hits for five RBI in leading the Athletics over the Devil Rays 12-2.

• Cain Mutiny. Giants starter Matt Cain beat Carlos Zambrano both on the mound and at the plate, San Francisco prevailing over Chicago 4-1. Cain shut down Chicago for seven innings and hit his second career homer. St. Louis lost and and Milwaukee was idle, essentially giving the NL Central race a day off.